


Tiny Twins

by inkedinserendipity



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, in which i give the twins a happy childhood because they deserve it, listen re: the title i'm calling it what it is, tiny twins au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 03:11:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14275671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkedinserendipity/pseuds/inkedinserendipity
Summary: The twins are hit with a deaging spell! During their second childhood they deal with trust issues, meeting their guardians for a second time, cooking fiascos and snowball fights.





	Tiny Twins

**Author's Note:**

> Due to requests, this fic is going up on archive as well! Please enjoy these tiny elven children meeting people for the second time, getting insanely protective of each other, and learning, eventually, how to trust.

“Holy fuck,” says Magnus.

“Don’t curse ‘em out! Gods, man, it’s like you have no  _manners_.”

“Merle, they’re - ” Magnus gestures helplessly at the two elves. “Merle, they’re  _little_.”

“We’re not little!” Lup frowns, stepping forward. Taako tugs her further back into the cave, eyeing Magnus warily.

“How old are you, then?” Magnus asks, kneeling on muddied ground in front of them. Taako shuffles backward. Lup steps in front of him. 

“Eleven,” Lup says defiantly. “‘N we can take care of ourselves.”

“ _Eleven?_ ” Magnus yelps.

“I’m sure you can, kiddos,” Merle says, kneeing Magnus out of the way. “You’ve taken care of yourselves so far, haven’tcha?”

“Yeah!”

“You’re a coupla brave kiddos.”

“We’re - ”

“Don’t paternize us,” Taako snaps. “You don’t know us a’ all.”

Magnus opens his mouth, but Merle elbows him in the knee. “You’re right,” he says, chuckling in that paternal way of his, then outstretches his soulwood arm. “But I’d love to get to know you tykes better. How’sabout we get outta this cave and I can see you two in proper daylight?”

Lup looks at Taako, and Taako looks back at Lup. “You wanna?” she whispers.

“I dunno,” Taako replies, equally quiet. He looks distrustingly at Magnus, who plasters his best for-kids grin on his face - it’s come in handy, recently, with all the kids who flood his shops looking for puppies - and regrets his earlier curse. “They’re weird.”

Lup grins proudly. “So’re we.”

Taako considers that for a moment, then nudges Lup aside and takes Merle’s hand. “If you hurt her I’ll step on your foot real hard.”

“I’m not gonna hurt either of you,” Merle promises, smiling encouragingly, and gives Taako’s hand a little shake. “Now, follow me carefully, okay? We’ll get you two outta here right quick.”

Taako reaches back for his sister’s hand, eyes fixed on Merle’s back, and she takes it. 

* * *

They emerge from the cavern like a strange line of ducks: Merle in front, whistling cheerfully, Taako and Lup pressed together, and Magnus taking up the rear. It was slow going and that, Magnus realizes as they leave the cave, was so the twins didn’t trip over themselves following. He’s intensely glad that Merle was here when the twins were found.

“Hey, Barry! You still got some of that jerky?” Merle calls, and grins at Taako and Lup when Barry’s voice floats over from between the trees. “Bring it over!”

Lup stares at the forest. “Who wazzat?” she asks, and Taako shrugs.

“That, little Lup, was our team’s, uh…death scientist,” Merle says, kneeling before her. “He’s a very smart man.”

“I wanna meet him,” she says immediately.

“He wants to meet you too. Bringin’ you food and everything, little miss.”

Lup looks at him sharply. Merle cocks his head at her. “Somethin’ wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says, but Taako says, “Most people don’t call her that, because they’re  _stupid_ ,” to which Lup says, “ _Taako,_ ” which Taako wholeheartedly ignores in favor of glaring at Merle, then switches his glare to Magnus. “You’re not stupid, are you?”

“Uh,” Magnus manages. At any age, the full weight of Taako’s glare could feel a greater man than he. “No.”

Apparently satisfied, Taako nods. “Good.”

Lup sticks her face close to his ear and whispers, “You shouldn’t do that, Koko.”

Taako juts his chin out. “You can’ stop me.”

“I can ask you real nice and then you’ll stop.”

“I’ll ignore you.”

“Aww, Koko,” she wheedles, and Magnus buries a helpless laugh in his fist, because she sounds exactly like her older counterpart, set on extracting a sweet muffin from her brother’s sticky fingers. “You made me sad.”

“I’m just makin’ sure they’re not dumb,” he says, going to cross his arms but stopping when he realizes that he’d have to unlink their hands. Lup’s grin furrows into concentration as she loops her arm around Taako’s, letting him cross his arms with her hand wedged in her elbow. “Those people make you feel bad an’ we’re not staying here if they make you feel bad.”

“But they’re not making me feel bad,” Lup says. “I like ‘em!”

“You like everyone,” Taako grumbles, but drops it. 

Lup preoccupies herself fidgeting with her brother’s fingers, until a familiar voice says “I brought jerky, Merle, what do you - what the  _hell?”_

Barry stumbles out of the fringe of the forest, into the clearing by the Starblaster, and stares openly at their two young charges. His face is smeared with dirt and muck and Magnus can see the crooked tilt to his glasses as he draws nearer. 

“Barry, this is Lup,” Merle says, warning in his gaze, “and her brother, Taako. They’re pretty hungry, so I was wonderin’ if you still had some o’ that jerky on you?” 

“Uh - uh, yeah,” Barry stutters, fumbling in his bag after a long moment of staring. He tugs out the jerky - two long, uneven strips - and holds them. Lup stares at him and he stares right back. “Do they - ” he goes to ask Merle, then thinks better of it. “Do you two want some jerky?”

“Yes,” Taako says.

“Yes  _please_ ,” Lup corrects, and takes it from him. She hands her brother some, tears off a small piece of hers to make the portions even, and takes a huge bite. “Was’ your name? You’re funny-lookin’.”

“Barry,” he says, still looking slightly winded. “My name’s, uh, Barry Bluejeans. Why do I, uh, look funny?”

“You got squares on your face,” Lup says, and points to her eyes. “Right there. Looks funny.” 

“Oh, these are my glasses,” Barry says, and takes them off. “They help me see.”

“How come you can’t see on your own?”

“My eyes are pretty bad,” he says, and holds them out to her. “Do you want to take a look?” 

Lup reaches for them, tugging Taako forward by their crossed arms as she goes. “Aw, cool,” she says, prodding at the frames with two pudgy fingers. After a few moments of close examination Taako reaches out too, and Lup passes them off. “Look, they’re all shiny.”

He holds them up to his face and peers through them. “They’re shitty.” Taako pulls a face. Barry blinks at the curse word, and Magnus silences yet another bark of laughter. “I can’t see anythin’ through them.”

“That’s ‘cause your eyes are bad,” Lup says, and snatches the glasses back. “You just gotta - ”

There’s a  _snap_ , and both twins freeze. 

One of the frames pop out from the glasses and hits the grass-carpeted ground. 

“I did it,” Taako says immediately, pushing Lup behind him. “I broke them.”

“No you didn’t,” Lup says, trying to step around him, “Koko, you  _didn’t_  - ”

“I did,” he insists, blocking her path. He stares up at Barry defiantly, and Magnus’s heart clenches at the familiar fire in his gaze. Lup always was his light. “Leave her alone.”

“I’m not angry,” Barry says, quick as always. He kneels in front of the two of them and smiles. “It’s okay. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve done that myself.”

Taako stares at him in apparent disbelief, and behind him, Lup relaxes against his shoulder. “You’re not mad?”

“God - uh, heavens no.” Barry plucks his frames out of the grass and pats around for the missing frame. “I’m not mad. Though I can’t find my frame, so, uh….”

“Here it is,” Lup says, scooping it off the ground and handing it to him. 

“Thank you, Lup,” Barry says, then stops and stares, turning bright red. 

Merle starts to laugh. Magnus stares at him, confused. “What?” he demands over their heads. “What is it?”

Merle waves him off, doubled over in silent laughter. Barry shakes himself and pops the frame back into place, settling the glasses back on his face. He sees Merle laughing, flushes a bit darker. Lup looks between the two of them, confused, and Barry waves an awkward hand through the air. “See?” he smiles. “See? Good as new.”

“Merle!” Magnus hisses. “What’s so funny?”

“Beach - ” Merle manages, voice a coarse whisper, “Lup - his glasses - Pan damn it,” he chokes, then dissolves into chuckles all over again.

“See?” Lup whispers proudly. “Tol’ you they were nice.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check me on @inkedinserendipity for more like this! And also, specifically of this AU, the seven additional parts that have already been posted.


End file.
